EXAMINING TEACHING WITH DESIGN-ORIENTED THINKING APPROACH IN TERMS OF DIFFERENT VARIABLES

Abstract

This mixed-methods study aimed to investigate the effect of the design thinking approach on vocabulary learning achievement, cooperative learning, and problem-solving skills of secondary school students in English language teaching. The research was conducted with 43 students studying in the 8th grade at a secondary school located in Turkey during the fall semester of 2020–2021. During the implementation process, the effect of the design thinking approach on the vocabulary learning achievement, cooperative learning perception, and problem-solving skills of the experimental group students was investigated. In the control group, all practices were the same except for the design thinking approach due to controlling for the dependent variables with the blended learning method. Qualitative data were used to support the quantitative data obtained. Measurement tools developed by the researchers were used to collect the quantitative data, and interview questions were prepared to collect the qualitative data from the students. As a result, the design thinking approach indicated a significant difference in favor of the experimental group in terms of students’ vocabulary learning achievement, cooperative learning perception, and problem-solving skill and had a positive effect on students.